Some males lack the capability of achieving and maintaining an erection. Accordingly, there have been devices and methods employed to address this problem. Stiffening the penis surgically, for instance, by implanting a so-called penile prosthesis, is unacceptable to many men because of the constant problems this often entails. Moreover these expensive devices frequently fail to become properly implemented. Methods for erection improvement by means of injections of medications into the corpus cavernosum of the penis or by introducing medications into the urethra just before intercourse are also known. Methods and experiments are also known for constricting venous drainage from the corpora cavernosa, thus damming the flow, by placing a ring around the root of the penis in order to increase the turgor in the corpora cavernosa. The concern has also been addressed by using a tube placed in airtight fashion against the root of the penis to create a negative pressure in the tube that is intended to increase the volume of the penis. The air produced by creating the negative pressure is pumped into a ring that is seated at the root of the penis and when inflated is intended to reduce venous return.
Devices for stiffening the penis from outside are known. These devices are generally configured as tubular sheaths, liners and the like which act as braces for the body of the penis. These sheaths are largely rigid and if they are to be correctly applied must be individually selected from a great assortment of different sizes. Once applied, the inside diameter of these bracing devices cannot be changed again to adapt to the volume and turgor of the body of the penis. If the body of the penis is overly compressed when such a device is put in place, there is the risk of circulatory disturbances. The degree of repletion of the corpora cavernosa of the body of the penis and of the glans fluctuate very markedly, especially at the moment of sexual arousal, even in the man who has undergone surgery. If the degree of repletion, the turgor pressure, and thus the diameter of the glans decrease, then the glans can slip into the rigid tubular stiffening device during intercourse and thus prevent intercourse from continuing.
In German Patent DE-PS 134 368, the body of the penis is stiffened by wrapping a “bandage-like strip of fabric, covered on the inside by an adhesive composition” around the penis.